Men vs Women – level 3

A study carried out by Washington State University asked 122 men and women to take a maths test and then guess how well they had done. The guinea pig men and women were then told their scores and asked to take another test.

After the second test, there was no information offered about how they had done, but they were asked to guess their results instead. It turned out that men consistently thought they had done better than they actually had. The women’s estimations, on the other hand, were right on the money.

Although the sample was quite small, researchers say that gender gaps in areas like science, engineering, and maths may be the result of men thinking too highly of their performance. The report also shows the potential need for positive illusions.